Sprinklings of history, a smidgen of genealogy, a dash of art & a dusting of architecture, all mixed together with my eccentric fascinations

05 July 2015

Auckland architecture: Let there be light

I’m a big fan of the architecture of the Art Deco era, which
flourished around the world through the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s. There’s something
about its combination of bold geometric shapes and exuberant ornamentation, and
that blending of ‘Machine Age’ imagery and materials with more traditional
craft motifs, that I find pleasing to the eye.

I like to focus on the minutiae of different architectural styles,
in this case the lights, lamps and lanterns that adorn some of the Auckland’s Art Deco
buildings and, during my wanders around the inner city, I’ve found some
fabulous examples. And I’ve included one red herring to finish.

… a fine example of a 1920s 'Chicago-style'
office block … Such high-rises marked a considerable shift in design and
business organisation from the smaller, single-tenancy offices used in the mid
to late nineteenth century. … [This] building was one of the tallest structures
in Auckland,
and of self-consciously 'modern' design. … Its interiors include some of the
finest Art Deco ornamentation in the city centre, and it makes an important
contribution to the urban streetscape.

Former Parnell
Library, Parnell

The same man who designed the former SouthBritishInsuranceBuilding
– M. K. Draffin of Grierson, Aimer of Draffin – also designed the former
Parnell Library building.

A New Zealander by birth, Malcolm Draffin (1890-1964)
completed his architectural apprenticeship in Auckland
in 1910, served with the NZ Field Engineers in the First World War, then
completed additional training at the ArchitecturalAssociationSchool
in London. As
well as these two buildings, his design work also included the AucklandWarMemorialMuseum.

In 1996, Parnell Library was relocated to larger premises in
the JubileeBuilding, and this building was sold
into private ownership. It has subsequently, and very sympathetically, been
turned into a private home, with business premises at street level and living
accommodation above.

Courtville
Apartments, Auckland
central

These Art Deco beauties sit either side of the main
entrance to the 1919 Courtville apartment block (also known as Corner
Courtville because it’s located on the corner of Waterloo Quadrant and Parliament Street,
to distinguish it from Middle Courtville, in Parliament Street).This building was one
of Auckland’s earliest high-rise apartment
blocks and, according to the Heritage New Zealand website, ‘shows the
influence of the architecture of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright of the ChicagoSchool’.It was one of
several inner-city apartment blocks to be designed by Australian Arthur
Sinclair O'Connor (c.1884-1943), who came to New Zealand about 1908.

Westminster Court, Auckland central

Once again we have links between the apartment block this
light adorns and the previous one. Not only is Westminster Court just along Parliament Street
from Courtville but they were also designed by the same man, though this
building is more recent, having been designed by A. Sinclair O’Connor in 1934. It’s an eight-storey block, originally contained 50 apartments, and is still much
sought-after by city dwellers. The building’s facilities include an indoor
heated pool, a spa pool and a sauna, a games room and a barbecue area. As you
might have guessed, apartments in this stylish building do not come cheap –
here’s a recent sale.

Old Arts or ClockTowerBuilding, University
of Auckland, Auckland central

Despite its rather flamboyant design, this is one of my
favourite Auckland
buildings and it’s also one of the most recognisable. Nowadays, the Clock Tower
you can see in my photo (above) is symbolic of the University of Auckland but the
building was controversial when first built in 1926, being described as ‘un-British
and out of harmony with our national character’ – this, obviously, before New
Zealand had really developed a character of its own! Once again we see the
influence of Chicago style in an Auckland building, as it
was designed by Chicago-trained architect Roy Lippincott. Considering the rest
of the building, the external lights are really very restrained but the
internal light (left) has a little more flair.

Grey Lynn Library,
Grey Lynn

To another library building now, and this one still functions
as a library and is very much the central hub of the Grey Lynn community.
Designed by notable Auckland
architect William Henry Gummer (1885-1966), the library opened on 13 December
1924, it cost £8,534 to construct and included a
reading room, a lending department, a lecture hall and a committee room.
Although the building itself is described as Georgian-style, those lamps
look very Art Deco to me.

Ports of Auckland Red Fence, Auckland
central

And we finish with that red herring I mentioned: one of the lamps from the magnificent red-painted
wrought iron fence that separates Auckland’s
wharves from neighbouring Quay
Street. The Red Fence, its wonderfully ornamental gates
and lamp stands were constructed in stages between 1913 and 1923, partly by
Manchester-based company G. Wragge Ltd, and partly by James Allen Sen & Son
Ltd, of Elmbank Foundry, in Glasgow. There were originally 25 of these
wonderful lamps – I haven’t counted to see if they all still remain, as some
parts of the original fence were removed when modern buildings were constructed
on Princes Wharf. These lamps may be a little early to count as Art Deco but,
with those splendid lions and heads (of Neptune / Poseidon?), they are such impressive
statements of power, strength and authority that I just had to include them.

About Me

I am a writer and photographer; project
manager and English teacher; knitter and genealogist; fungi forayer and bird
watcher; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and child sponsor; tree
lover and cat person; researcher and blogger; nemophilist; and traveller.